A solar farm in a Lenox neighborhood? Not so fast, zoning board says

LENOX — There’s no red-carpet welcome for a major commercial solar project in a residential area — at least not yet.

The Zoning Board of Appeals posed some tough questions to developer Allco Renewable Energy Ltd. at Wednesday’s initial hearing on an application seeking a variance from town zoning bylaws.

It’s proposed for 383 Housatonic St., near the Lenox Dale industrial zone. But nearly all of the property is in the 1-acre residential zone. And the town’s bylaws rule out a solar array in that homeowner zone next to the Mountain View Cemetery, one of the town’s three burial grounds.

The 46-acre hilltop property was acquired by Allco’s real estate affiliate, PLH Vineyard Sky LLC, for $575,000 in June 2020.

If approved, the 7.5 megawatt, large-scale ground photovoltaic facility would cost up to $10 million to build, Allco’s CEO Thomas Melone told The Eagle. It could power up to 1,300 homes by connecting to National Grid’s adjacent transmission lines through underground and overhead wiring.

According to Allco Renewable’s attorney James Martin of Springfield, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in a Waltham solar development case that a “dual use” solar array on agricultural land is allowed by state law, overriding local bylaws.

However, he conceded, a town could push back by arguing that a solar farm would impact public health, safety and community welfare.

The state’s Department of Energy Resources is in the final stages of approving Allco’s application for the “dual use” property, Martin told the zoning board members.

The property has been used as a hayfield, mowed for decades by a local farmer continuing to access the land via the cemetery. ZBA Chairman Robert Fuster Jr. reprimanded the developer’s representatives, pointing out that the board ruled that out last year.

If the solar project is allowed by the zoning board, about a dozen sheep would graze on the hayfield underneath the solar array, Martin said. There would be a “run-in shed” for protection from the elements, and a company rep would visit every other day to make sure the sheep had enough water.

The project still requires a decision by the Lenox Conservation Commission because of unresolved wetlands issues.

Ecos Energy, a Minneapolis-based affiliate of Allco, would operate and maintain the solar facility, while PLH Vineyard Sky would oversee the agricultural operation. Ecos — which operates 37 solar farms in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, California and three other states — was represented by senior project manager Rodney Galton.

Among the concerns raised by zoning board members:

• “I’m not convinced you can meet the standards for a variance,” said Albert Harper, an attorney. “You’re asking to change the use of the bylaw, and state law prohibits that. I need a lot of convincing to see why we could issue a variance because we could have solar arrays all over town without the ability to control them. By spot zoning, you could buy property in any residential area and rezone it industrial.”

• “We would need more information about how putting in sheep with the solar facility make it an agriculture use,” said Fuster, also an attorney. “It seems far-fetched to me.”

• “It sounds like you’re saying you can do it in a [1-acre residential zone] regardless of what we say,” Kimberly Duval said. “Why are we listening to your petition if you’re saying you can do what you want anyway?” She also complained about the developer’s clear-cutting of more than 200 acres of trees. “Forests have been cut down in a residential property in the quiet of night. It’s a serious matter for the preservation of our community.”

Martin maintained that the project “has to comply with other town regulations; we can’t just do whatever we want to do.”

On the farming issue, Galton argued that “we’re looking to change the agricultural use from haying to sheep. Usually on our sites, the sheep hunker down underneath the panels. A perimeter fence will go around the entire field.”

Gwen Miller, the Lenox land use director and town planner, noted that the site is within the state’s Upper Housatonic River Area of Critical Environment Concern.

The hearing will resume on at 7 p.m. July 26 at Town Hall, and it will include public comment.

Timeline

Key events in the dispute over a proposed commercial solar farm on a mostly residential site in Lenox:

2018: Proposed $10 million commercial solar project for 383 Housatonic St. is abandoned by a previous developer amid local opposition.

June 2020: The 46-acre hilltop property at the same location on Housatonic Street is sold to PLH Vineyard Sky for $575,000, a steep decline from the original $3 million asking price.

October 2020: Because of wetlands issues, the Lenox Conservation Commission denies a requested second curb cut for PLH Vineyard Sky to access the agricultural land at the site.

November 2021: Parent company Allco and affiliate Ecos sue the Conservation Commission in Berkshire Superior Court.

March 2022: PLH Vineyard Sky files a variance application with Lenox ZBA for the second curb cut.

June 1, 2022: After a confrontational Zoom meeting with Allco Renewable Energy CEO Thomas Melone, the ZBA defers further discussion and a vote until a future meeting.

July 2022: The ZBA approves a second curb cut, but access is limited to agricultural use of the land. For any future solar project, Allco or its subsidiaries would have to apply for a special permit.

June 2023: The zoning board reopens a variance permit application from Allco Renewable, seeking a 7.5 megawatt solar array on agricultural land where a dozen company sheep would graze on the hayfield. After vigorous discussion, the hearing was rescheduled for July 26.

Source: Eagle files.